When he isn’t falling asleep in Pilates class, America's next great golfing hope, Anthony Kim, focuses on flexibility and circuit-training to improve his game

By Jen Murphy | Photos by Ture Lillegraven

Last year, Anthony Kim showed the golf world that he’d grown up. After earning a reputation as the 2007 PGA Tour rebel, the 23-year-old adjusted both his attitude and his workout. The payoff was a breakout 2008 season that included two significant tournament wins and endless comparisons to Tiger Woods, particularly after Kim became the first American under 25 since Woods in 2000 to win at least twice in one year on the PGA Tour.

Ranked 14th in the world, Kim has gotten off to a slow start this year, hobbled by the flu, an injured shoulder and a cut on his foot. Now healthy, he is refocusing, working with a personal trainer for the first time.

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In 2007, Kim practiced little and partied hard. “I wasn’t respecting the game,” he says. Kim’s rebellious side has partially been attributed to his father, who had a golf club in his son’s hands by age 2. Paternal pressure led to an estrangement of almost two years between the two that finally ended in December 2006 on the day Kim earned his PGA Tour card: “I know he was pushing me because he wanted the best for me.”

Workout
“Playing on the tour makes me feel like I have a greater responsibility to stay in the best shape during the off-season,” Kim says. Wanting to step up his game in 2009, Kim hired a trainer with whom he works every day during a tournament. He spends 90 minutes at the gym daily, circuit-training for cardio and doing a combination of weights, abdominal exercises and push-ups for strength.

During the season, Kim keeps his legs strong with 30-minute sessions on the elliptical and stretches religiously. He is a big believer in the conventional wisdom attributing lengthened swing to improved flexibility. “I think flexibility is very, very important,” he says. Kim does dynamic exercises, like walking lunges, which use controlled speed and momentum to bring about stretch.